Hell in Three Levels: Level One:Winged Creatures
by G. E. Harrison
Summary: This is Chapter one of G. E. Harrison's: Hell in Three Levels: Level One. In this level, Ronnie explores the meaning of her kind and why she was chosen to be the next Kwe', or Queen. It is a short Level, but they will grow as Ronnie learns much more of the Creatures of Pantalaya.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

I had tried my hardest over the years to understand where I belonged, and I finally knew. It all started in the late afternoon of a Thursday, it was around three o clock, partly cloudy with a touch of rain, I was walking to my locker at high school to put my book up and get my car keys, but he stood there, leaned up against my locker was a tall almost seven foot man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a tattoo that added twists and turns through his whole body.

The tattoo started over his heart in the shape of a sun, then it twisted in twenty different directions towards the rest of his chest and past his lower torso. His arms seemed to have not been tainted by the black ink, but I could see it was spreading towards them. He stood straight backed now towards me, his eyes daggers through me as his gorgeousness showered over me. "Ronnie?" He asked. Okay, yes, I had a guys name, but who cares? It could be cool at some points! "Yes." My shakey voice managed to get out. He raised his hand and I felt a burning sensation over my heart, then it grew to a small irritating prick that would make you mad enough to go crazy, and then flames, no, worse, I was engulfed in them, not just over my heart, but everywhere. I was frozen where I stood, but I fell to my knees and he lowered his hand. "You are the next Kwe'." He spoke, and a blue light glazed over my eyes.

I felt as if I had bee dipped in acid after being trampled by bulls, stripped of my skin, and burned at the stake. I couldn't scream because the blue glaze over my eyes seemed to overcome my throat with the flames, and yes, it burned terribly. I couldn't see, I couldn't feel anything but the flames that wrapped around me and consumed me, I couldn't think because the black veil of the world was closing and I felt brain dead. Was I? Would my mother and father figure out I wouldn't come home tonight... or at all?

I felt my surroundings and realized, through this time that I had been burning, I had changed scenery. Instead of on the hard cold school floor, I felt grass, all around me, and smelled the fresh trimming of each clip around me. I also discovered a new smell, an odd cinnamon smell mixed with vanilla and a little of moss to balance it out perfectly with the grass clippings. I grabbed onto the grass and pulled out a hunk, feeling something, for once beside the burning. Within the feeling of hours or so, I felt the tips of my fingers and toes, I could actually feel a pair of fingers intertwined through mine, I could feel the coolness of them, and how they were as hard as stone, but becoming warmer, and softer.

I could tell that it was getting day time because about a hundred yards away I could hear a humming birds wings fluttering, and I could hear a rooster two and three fourths miles away from the spot I sat on crow. Through the blue glaze, I could progressively see the sun coming into view and the blue, pink, purple and yellow sky turning completely blue. Then, I saw him through the glaze. He looked different. Through the glaze, I'm sure everyone would've looked different, but not this different. He seemed to have changed eye colors to a deep black, and his face was twisted to stone as he stared at me. His golden hair had dulled to an almost white, and I could tell something was wrong by the tone in his voice as he spoke to me, "Just a few more hours, my Kwe', not much longer, I promise."

As the burning gathered closer to my heart, I finally perceived and felt the soft grass under me, and the odd thing was, it felt like a soft bed, and not like the hard ground it usually did. But the down side to feeling the grass was the burning going completely to my heart, like it took everything to change my heart beat to something different, because I knew I wasn't human anymore, and I never would be. As this happened, my back began to spasm and burst in pain as my body had when he first found me. I twitched as the pain became so unbearably horrible that I wish I had died. I thought this almost change was over, but no, now my back was in pain, and by this pain, I could've sworn that it had been ripped open, but how? Would a change as extensive as this burst my back open?

As I now felt around me, there was nothing, like I was floating in space, but it wasn't space, because I felt something on my back pulling me up, something so simple that they actually felt natural, and as I stopped floating, and the air stopped rushing threw my hair, I heard flapping of wings. Not a normal birds wings, oh no, these had to be wings of some kind of malevolent creature, yet they felt as if they were right behind me.

I stretched my arms out to feel my joints, and expected them to be sore, but no, there was no soreness, nothing, only perfection beyond belief, and as I opened my eyes to see for the first time in what felt like years, I saw the sun, and every perfect glare of it, then I saw the grass, every piece beyond perfection, I even saw the small fibers in the bark on the trees. I saw everything, so perfectly and clearly. And as I realized I was dangled in the sky, I looked around for a wider view of the world surrounding me, trying to see the reason for my being in the air. Then, without a glimpse of warning, I saw black feathers, coal black feathers that flowed with the wind, and then I realized, the malevolent creature I had heard...

That was me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

As I lowered myself to the ground I stared into his black eyes. "Ronnie?" He asked. I bowed out of some sort of habit. He bowed back but stayed down longer than me. He finally straightened his back, smiled and offered me his hand. "My Kwe'." He spoke, his voice as silk and perfect as the wings on my shoulders. "Now, you know how to tuck in your wings, right?" I scowled at myself and looked down, closing my eyes and pulling whatever I could into me. Then I heard him smile. "So you can." He said. I saw that my ten feet wings had been pulled into my body and turned into an almost tattoo. I smiled. "I-" Wait, this wasn't my voice, this was an angels, I didn't care what he said, everything had changed.

He sighed. "Ronnie, everything changes. Oh by the way, I'm Cyes." I looked at him and shook his hand as I thought, he knew what I was thinking? He then smiled. "Yes, I do know what you think, telepathy, your first lesson. We can read each others minds." I smiled. "So you can read my mind?" I asked. He shrugged. "Only until you decide to become what you are. Once you know and want what you are, no one is allowed into your mind, unless you let them, and whoever is allowed into your mind, is a soldier." I didn't understand much of what he meant by soldier, but as we walked through the woods to a dark almost blackened mansion, the large twenty feet doors opened slowly and both of our wings were tucked into a tattoo that went down the back of our bodies. One older man with gray long hair to his elbows stood from a jeweled decrepit throne with two younger but still old men. "Is it true? Did you find her? Ronnie?" He asked. I went to bow but he held up a hand. "Kwe', you need not to bow to me, but us to you." And at that, everyone in the room bowed to me.

I nodded towards everyone and they stood straight again. "If I may ask, what is a Kwe'? And why am I chosen to be it?" I asked, stepping up to the older man. He smiled. "My dear, Kwe' is a Native American queen. You control us, you are our queen." I shrugged. "I mean, honestly, I don't know much about becoming a queen." I said. The man bowed. "First of all, I may introduce you to your new life. I am Burteque, the old ruler before my Kwe' died tragically." I frowned and bowed to him. "For that, I bow to you." I said. He smiled. "Thank you, Kwe'. May I say, I am prepared and happy to give my throne away to you." He said walking down and grabbing my hand, holding it high as if a trophy.

I nodded. "Thank you, sir. But... what did you mean by new life?" I asked. He shrugged. "Well you will need to get rid of all of your human friends and family. After all, we are family here. And the soldiers and mistress's are your friends." I shook my head. "Why do I have to say goodbye to everyone?" I asked. "Well, around here, humans see us as demonic, like we have been made of ungodly things. That is why we must keep ourselves in the background." He said.

I was going to explain that I couldn't give up my life, but he called a young woman much shorter than me over. "Julihanna," He spoke. She walked to me and bowed to both of us. "Yes, Sir?" She asked, her dainty voice sounding scared almost. "May you take Ronnie to her room, please?" He asked. She nodded and bowed again, walking on before me and heading me through many twists and turns, we even went through a spiral staircase before we got to a long dark hallway with no windows. She grabbed a torch and bowed as she looked at me. "Follow me if you may, Kwe'." She said walking for about five minutes down the hallway before stopping at another large set of doors. "This shall be your room, Kwe'. Enjoy if you may." She bowed once more before hopping down the hallway with the bouncing candle light.

I turned the nob and was astonished by the light that burst through the large windows. The room was larger than any combined, and the windows had to be at least twenty feet tall with a balcony off of the side of my room next to a small garden. I smiled and walked more in. The room had cream walls and on them were painted the symbols that now rested on my chest. The bed was big enough for five of me and three of Cyes in there. But at least I had a good home now. I walked to another set of doors and opened them.

The clothes were perfectly hung up with two other dressers in the middle next to a mirror with a brush and another hand held mirror. I finally caught a glimpse of the new me in that mirror. It looked like I had black eyeliner on, but I didn't, my eyelashes had doubled in size, and my hair had grown two to three inches, my eyes had turned from the dark mud brown to the light blue. My tattoo wasn't noticeable until I lifted my blue shirt up. It twisted a lot different from Cyes' and I realized, in the middle of everything, I could pick out the small word Kwe' written in the most gorgeous style of handwriting. I put my shirt down and spun myself around in the large closet.

It had gorgeous long dresses, not old ones, ones that were tight fitting and split at the mid thigh. One was even blue and seemed to fit perfectly. I touched a black one that was split to mid thigh and strapless with a slight train of black in the back and a tiara with black diamonds embedded in the twirls. I heard the doors open and saw an older woman with salt and pepper hair, she was gorgeous and tall though. "Oh, they already told you of the ball?" She asked. I turned to her. "No, mam, I know nothing of a ball." She smiled. "Oh goodness, no one's called me mam in years, please, Angeline. Wow, you sure do like that dress don't you?" She said, walking towards me. I shrugged. "I mean... not if it's yours." I said. She shook her head. "Dear no, it's all yours. I just wanted to help you to the ball that's in about forty five minutes by the way." I gasped. "I don't know what to wear." She smiled and walked to me, pushing me to the mirrored dresser in the closet. "I will help you, my dear. Anything for my future Kwe'." She spoke. I smiled and sat back as she twirled and flipped my hair, her fingers gliding gently through each strand without harm.

Then I felt her move to my face. "Okay, Ronnie, we're fixing you up good." She said. I closed my eyes and let her do all the work, feeling every touch over my face affect my features drastically.

I didn't realize I was falling asleep until Angeline called my name about three times. I opened my eyes to see her scowling. "Darling, you need to open your eyes for some things." She said. I shrugged. "I guess I'm just tired." I said. She nodded. "I was tired when I first turned." I said. I smiled. "So, I'm not a freak?" I asked. She laughed. "Oh, child, we're freaks of nature. Everyone in this building are freaks of nature. It runs in our blood." I shook my head. "When he said that... we couldn't have family or friends anymore... is it true?" I asked. She sighed. "Sadly yes, and the worst thing is, whoever you fancy, will die while you stay eighteen forever." I gasped. "Forever?" I asked. She nodded. "Yes, dear, forever." I frowned and shook my head.

I heard her smile and she pulled her hands away. "It's finished." She said. I lifted my face and looked into the mirror. I had changed, I had eyeshadow on now, my hair braided and twisted around with the tiara stuck in. I smiled. "Thank you..." I spoke. She pat my shoulders. "You're gorgeous." She said. I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks and smiled. "Thank you..." She grabbed the dress. "Now, for the dress." She unzipped it and I stepped into the black satin on the floor. I couldn't tell what I would look like, but I felt odd wearing a dress, it was really my first time. "First time wearing a dress?" She said. I turned to her. "Telepathy?" I asked. She shrugged. "Yep... actually no, you stand wrong in a dress, almost like you're constipated."

I smiled at her and walked to the floor to ceiling mirror and a thinner wall near the door. "See, gorgeous." It wasn't exactly floor length, but it somehow fit perfectly. I felt a rush of air between us and she had shoes in her hands. "Put these on and be out in three to seven minutes." She said, walking out and turning around again. "I never had a daughter... but thanks to you I feel like I do." She sighed and turned to open the door, where Burteque stood in an ancient robe that was floor length and deep green with a nice suit under it. "Oh my, Kwe', you are stunning." He walked to me and offered his arm. "I feel like a father to you." He spoke as I wrapped my arm in his and began to walk.

As we walked through the long hallway again I could see good enough to where Angeline was walking about twenty feet in front of me with her pail pink dress trailing a foot and a half behind her. We got to a golden doorway and Burteque stopped. "I hope you know that this is a ceremony for you, not just a ball. We haven't had a Kwe' in over two hundred years, and since we now do, an initiation is well deserved." I heard Angeline speak the words, "Please rise as we welcome our new Kwe', Queen Ronnie!" And the golden doors opened.

I saw Cyes standing with a suit on to where it fit him perfectly and smiled as he eyed me, his eyes becoming bigger than his body. Everyone gasped and smiled, even the older people in the golden thrones behind a golden table set with plates and such. I didn't like being the center of attention, yet I never had been, but I loved this now.

We walked down twenty stairs and Cyes was the first to offer his hand. "May I ask my Kwe' for a dance?" He asked, bowing to me. I bowed back at him and placed my palm to his, my other arm going on his shoulder. As the violins began, he pulled me with him, taking up the floor, since we were the only ones dancing. He smiled. "So, how is my Kwe' this fine evening?" He asked. "Better, but I'm still worried about the no human policy." I said. She shrugged. "It's not a policy, more of a principle." I shook my head. "I don't think it should be." He smiled. "I know... four months ago I left behind a family, a little brother that I felt as a dad to... but I can't go back. Honestly, you're the only one that can escape this dungeon without getting sworn out." He spun me around and kept dancing as others began to dance too.

I shook my head. "I mean, it should be allowed no matter what. There are humans in this world that I'm sure would except us." I said. He nodded. "It's been a principle since ancient times, no one dares to changed it under the oath of the Elders." I raised an eyebrow. "Oath of the Elders?" I asked. He nodded. "They swore that if any laws were changed or broken, they would avenge them." I scoffed. "They want a Kwe' don't they?" He nodded. "Of course." He said. "Than they shall have one." He raised an eyebrow and twirled me once more.

"What does that mean, Kwe'?" He asked. I shook my head. "Please just call Ronnie." He bowed and smiled. "Anything for you." He spoke.

I felt an over whelming sadness for the humans that didn't know us. If they only knew that these were tattoos and not wings, then I could have human friends! I wanted human friends back, not just people like me. I wanted my mother and father to know I'm okay and perfectly fine, but those are two people I will never tell what I am. I turned to look at everyone else sighed. "It's not fair." I said. He nodded. "I know, Kwe', I know." He seemed to not know how close I was to my mother and father, and all of my friends, I'm sure they would be crushed, right? Honestly, I had no way of knowing. Not until I got down to the bottom of everything.

_Catherine_

I couldn't stop thinking of how my daughter, my beautiful Ronnie, hadn't come home last night, and it was soon becoming night for the second time. Andrew, my loving husband, sat down across from me, his hand passing me a mug of coffee as he sighed. "You need to drink something, you know how you get when you eat nothing." He said. I shook my head. "There's something wrong here... she would never do that." I said.

He shrugged. "Well... you know what they say, Cat. It chooses the good ones." I felt an anger growing in the empty pit of my stomach and I couldn't help my actions, so I stood and in one fluid movement threw my glass across the room. "NO! IT WON'T CHOOSE HER!" I yelled. His eyes seemed in terror as he stared at me. I didn't know what came over me, but I could feel more coming on. "Cat, calm down." He spoke gingerly. I shook my head. "Andy, it couldn't have chosen her. It runs through the blood, it would've chosen me or you, but it never did!" I said. He stood and held his hand out to me. "Cat, it's okay. It doesn't mean anything happened. She could be going through her rebellious stage." I shook my head. "She would never do anything like that." I said.

I ran my hand through my hand and shook my head. "I have to get out of her." I said, grabbing my keys and walking to the car. I started it and drove away from the house, watching Andrew disappear in the rear view mirror.

As I drove I felt as if every eighteen year old girl I saw was my daughter Ronnie. Honestly, I hated the name Ronnie. I liked her real name Veronica, but her father decided to call her Ronnie for short, but all I cared about right now was getting my daughter back. I drove to the clearing that I usually took Ronnie to every two weeks since she was five and got out of the car, leaning against it and staring at the sky. As I did, I saw something floating, about to fall out of the tree, and as it fell, I reached to catch it.

It was a feather, a black one that was at least a foot and a half long, if not longer. I had seen a feather like this before, when I was about fifteen, I watched the sun go down in this clearing, and the same feather fell, I took it home and had it checked out by my father, he had said that it was from a creature as they were, one that was a human with tattoos and wings, wings that when consumed into the body became a full body tattoo. I couldn't imagine Ronnie with a tattoo. She hated pain, absolutely hated it, and she couldn't stand needles, I remembered when she was five and had to get shots for the starting of school, we had to hold her down so she could get them.

I smiled at the memory, but frowned when I looked back at the feather, this was a creature as Andrew had suggested she had turned into, and I knew she couldn't have. Andy was right, it was just a rebellious stage that she would come back from in a day or I couldn't tell if that was true, if it was just a rebellious stage. I just had to find out for myself.

_Ronnie_

I sat in my bed on the first night of being in my new room and stared out the large window. I didn't like the big bed because I sunk too far into it. I stood and walked to the seat in front of the window, pulling my knees into my chest. I stared up at the moon and remembered how my mother and I stared at it every night together.

I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't leave my mother without a clue, so I grabbed my jeans, my shirt, and ran out of my room. I saw an open window and noticed a pair of black wings on the roof. It was Cyes, he was sitting staring at the moon. I walked out next to him and he smiled. "Leaving, are you?" He asked. I nodded, pulling on my black boots. "I have to find my mom." I said. He nodded. "I shall cover for you, my Kwe." He said. I smiled. "Thanks." I said. I felt my back spasm again and soon, the satiny black feathers were caressing the back of my arms. He stood. "You will be the best Kwe' ever known, Ronnie." He spoke. I looked back at him. "Well, if I survive this, I guess I will." I said, diving off of the roof of the building.

As I floated down towards the ground, I could've kept going, for goodness sakes, but I pulled up and with that, my wings pulled up too. I was gliding against the ground, feeling each blade of grass flow across my skin. I pulled up again and flew through the trees, then evened out with the current of the wind. I smiled at Cyes and flew faster through town. I was hoping that I could find my old house, and luckily, I did.

I had never seen the roof like this, and now that I realized it, mom was right, it did need to be re-tiled. I flew down and landed on top of the roof, my wings forming back into my body as I jumped down to the front next to the door and straightened myself up. I couldn't tell what my mother was going to think of her daughter, and how she was going to react to me, but before I could reach the concrete of the front porch, the large wooden front door opened, and I smelled a new smell, one I had never smelled before, an enticing smell, a delicious smell, but in the end, it turned out to be dad. He stared at me long and hard and shook his head. "It's impossible... Ronnie?" He asked. I walked forward. "Hey, dad." I said. He gasped and pulled me into his arms, the smell of him punching down my throat and for some reason making the pit of my stomach twist and turn into twenty different directions.

He pulled away. "Did they... did they get to you, Ron?" He asked. I nodded. "I'm one of the freaks now, dad." I said. He smiled. "As long as you're alive..." I nodded. "And... mom?" I asked. He shrugged. "Hysterical as always." I nodded. "Well... I should see her." he nodded "I'm sure she'd like to see you." He said, opening the door and letting me walk in first. I knew by this time mom would be in bed, so I walked to the first cracked door down the hallway and reluctantly pushed it open. Moms body was tangled in the mess of sheets on her bed, propped up on her hand but close to falling. I touched her arm and she jumped, her whole body shaking to life. She looked at me and pulled me into her arms immediately, squeezing me tightly around the neck. "Ronnie!" She said. I hugged her back. She smelled good like dad, and for some reason I had the urge to keep her close to me, but I pulled away anyways. She stood, now energetic, and walked out of the room. She went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Her hands were shaking as she reached for me again. "Ronnie, I'm so glad you're home." She spoke. I nodded and sat on the couch.

"So... they chose you." She spoke, bringing me my coffee and sitting across from me. I shrugged. "Yeah... I'm the next Kwe..." I spoke. She gasped. I shook my head. "What?" I asked. "The Kwe' is the queen, Ronnie. You are supreme ruler." And as she said that, I realized, my world would be forever changed.


End file.
